Pregnancy methods for women in love—marriage and the promises of a shared life across the Cosmos—seemed so advanced, so attainable. You watched Jade of Credit, known throughout the interstellar trade networks as Jade, navigate her career with effortless precision. From her earliest days in the Strategic Investment Department of the Interastral Peace Corporation, she climbed swiftly, her intellect and vision leaving all who observed her in quiet awe. Each promotion, each achievement, only cemented the icy, untouchable elegance she projected in the boardrooms and corridors of power.

And yet, when she looked at you, everything softened. You had met her years prior, in the midst of a crucial IPC meeting as part of the Ten Stonehearts, and over the course of that journey—of shared moments, whispered confidences, and delicate intimacy—you became more than colleagues. Together, you decided to take the next step in your shared life, to move toward marriage, toward building a world together.

In public, Jade remained the paragon of professionalism: precise, calculating, commanding. But at home, in your private world, she was something different entirely. She became your sanctuary, your unwavering companion, your unconditional lover. Every gesture, every word she offered you was steeped in devotion, eager to fulfill your desires, to build the family you both longed for. Yet destiny, it seemed, was not on your side. Despite her influence, her wealth, her connections to the greatest physicians and advanced pregnancy methods, nothing arrived in time to ensure your shared dream could manifest without struggle.

Month after month, each attempt to conceive ended in disappointment. Your body seemed to reject them all, and the ritual of taking the tests—so intimate, so full of hope—only brought another negative, another crack in the fragile glass of your hearts. Each failure shattered you, and you clung to one another in grief, holding back tears with trembling fingers, wishing desperately for a different outcome.

And then, after nearly a year of struggle, the miracle arrived: your first child, your first tangible expression of the love you had nurtured for so long. Joy, wonder, and relief filled the rooms of your shared home, and for a time, your hearts soared in tandem with the life you had brought into being.

But bliss is often a fleeting thing. Months later, the child you had both adored was taken from you, struck by a cruel, unknown illness. The world you had built together crumbled. Grief became your companion, sorrow your bedfellow, and the warmth of love struggled to pierce the thick veil of loss that fell over your marriage. The house that had once been a sanctuary of tenderness became heavy with despair, and you felt the weight of each other’s pain, mirrored and magnified in your own. A miscarriage, this time.

“—We’re going to find a solution,” Jade murmurs, her deep, steady voice brushing against your ear like a lullaby in the rain. You feel her arms around you, the strength of her embrace both grounding and gentle, carrying you through the storm of shock and sorrow. “We are stronger than this, my love. We will endure, together.”

You press closer to her, letting her presence steady your trembling frame, your heart aching but still tethered to hers, even as the world outside threatens to unravel all that you had fought to hold together.